"Lian… please wake up. We've been waiting for you for so long…"
"Lian… please, you must hear my voice. If you don't, who knows how long we'll have to wait before we can meet you again…"
"Lian… I'm begging you… please hear me… please…"
The repeated calls echoed in her ears. She tried desperately to open her eyes, but no matter how she struggled, she couldn't. Her eyelids felt impossibly heavy, as though weighed down by iron, and even after exhausting every ounce of strength, they refused to open.
Yet the voice calling her was filled with such urgency—as if missing this one chance meant they would never meet again. Deep inside, she knew this was important, that it mattered greatly to her, but she no longer had the strength to try.
"Am I going to give up?" The thought flashed through her mind. But the increasingly desperate calls made it impossible for her to truly surrender.
"If I give up now… that would be too cruel to them. But… I really can't open my eyes." Her body felt unbearably heavy—so heavy she could hardly move. The exhaustion from spiritual power depletion was more than just fatigue—it was a deep, suffocating weariness, as if she were sinking into an endless abyss.
"Lian… Lian… if you can hear me, please answer me… Only you can help us now…" The soft, trembling voice of a girl reached her once more, laced with tears. The fragile plea pierced straight into Chu Lian's heart, making it impossible for her to abandon it.
"Damn it… why does this always happen when I'm powerless? Just like that dream on the rooftop—and now, again, I'm trapped in this helpless state. Is this all just some cruel joke meant to torment me?"
Frustration welled up inside her. She wanted to scream, to release it—but there was nowhere for that strength to go. It was a helpless struggle she had no desire to experience again.
Just then, the white rose on her chest began to glow softly. Gentle light enveloped her, and an infinite surge of spiritual power poured into her body. The dried-up meridians and cells, drained of vitality, were instantly rejuvenated by the torrent of energy.
At the same time, her attribute panel changed. The line that once read "Spiritual Power / Magic Power / Hare / Inner Power: SSS / S / A / A [Currently Usable: Spiritual / Magic / Hare / Inner: B / C / C / C]" now displayed "Spiritual Power / Magic Power / Hare / Inner Power: SSS / S / S / S [Currently Usable: Spiritual / Magic / Hare / Inner: A / B / B / B]."
Her total usable energy had multiplied several times over, relieving the backlash from overexertion and rapidly restoring her condition.
As her spiritual power filled her once more, her strength returned. Slowly, her heavy eyelids lifted.
She found herself suspended, completely unclothed, in a dark space. Bubbles like those found in the deep sea floated upward around her, shimmering faintly in the darkness.
When she waved her hand, she felt faint resistance—as if she were underwater. "Is this… an ocean? But why can I breathe freely? And why does a place like this exist in my consciousness?"
"Who's calling me?" The girl's voice had faded, but Chu Lian could sense she hadn't vanished—only grown silent, likely giving up after calling too long with no response. Realizing that, she called out into the darkness.
"Is that you, Chu Lian? Can you hear me now?" The voice that answered was hoarse, but the joy within it was unmistakable.
"I heard you from the beginning," Chu Lian replied. "But I was too weak to respond—completely drained. I only just recovered enough to open my eyes and call back."
She looked around. Though the place was pitch-black, she could somehow see everything clearly. The strange sensation made her curious. What was this place—and who had created such a mysterious space?
"Good… you heard us… that means we can finally leave this place…" The girl's tone was filled with hope, as though Chu Lian's awakening were their salvation.
"Can you tell me where you are? It's dark here. I can't see where you're calling from," Chu Lian asked. Indeed—it was dark. Even if she could perceive her surroundings, the space itself remained devoid of light.
The darkness remained the dominant tone of the space. Her arrival had brought visibility to the surroundings, but it didn't change the essence of this realm. No matter how she looked around, she still couldn't see the girl who had spoken.
"This place is a strange, unified domain," the girl's voice echoed faintly. "No matter which direction you go, you'll eventually reach us. Just… be careful not to disturb the creatures here. They're powerful—if they latch onto you, your soul will begin to corrode. Wounds like that take a very long time to heal."
The girl's words immediately caught Chu Lian's attention. "So there are living things here? Ones that specifically corrode souls? That means… I must be here in spirit form as well? What a strange space… I'm starting to wonder where exactly this place lies within my spiritual sea."
As she thought, she began to move forward—her arms and legs gliding through the water in a swimming motion. She chose to move straight ahead. Since the girl had said that all directions eventually led to the same destination, this "forward" movement was likely just an illusion, her path being drawn toward wherever the girl resided.
The sensation of being naked in water wasn't new—after all, she bathed daily—but to move like this, drifting freely through something resembling a vast ocean, was a first. The cool water flowed across her skin, evoking an unfamiliar yet strangely serene feeling.
After swimming for some time, she finally encountered the so-called "creatures." They were mermaids with closed eyes, half-dragon girls, and crystalline maidens sealed within transparent coffins.
They all remained motionless in their places, utterly still. Even when Chu Lian swam past them, they didn't stir in the slightest.
That sight made things clear to her—these beings were in deep slumber. Perhaps they had been asleep for eternity, or maybe they would remain so until their life force was gone. Either way, as long as they weren't touched, they posed no danger.
It was likely that the girl who had called her, along with her companions, had given in to curiosity and touched one of them—waking them briefly and suffering for it. That must be why they warned her not to engage with these entities.
Honestly, had the girl not given that warning, Chu Lian would have been tempted to reach out herself—those still, beautiful figures looked almost like works of art. But now, she was cautious. Finding the girl who had called to her came first; everything else could wait.
She didn't know how long she had been swimming when a faint light appeared in the distance. The further she went, the brighter it became, until it shone like a radiant beacon ahead.
When she reached the edge of the light, she realized it was coming from what appeared to be an exit. Below it lay what seemed to be her destination.
Glancing back once, she thought she saw a pair of eyes watching her quietly. But when she looked again, they were gone. It seemed there were secrets in this place yet to be revealed.
Taking a step forward, her body was drawn into the glowing passage. When her vision returned, she found herself in an entirely new space.
All around her floated spherical pods, each containing a young girl curled up inside—naked, eyes closed, but alive. There were many such pods, but only a few seemed occupied.
After a brief silence, Chu Lian spoke. "Were you the ones calling me?"
"You came… that's wonderful…" came the girl's relieved voice. She sounded as though a great weight had been lifted from her heart.
"Which one are you?" Chu Lian asked, her gaze sweeping across the pods but finding no sign of movement.
"I'm Hare Menjou," the girl answered softly after a brief hesitation.
"Hare Menjou… I see," Chu Lian murmured. The name instantly connected the dots in her mind. She recalled what Eve and True Name had told her after Inori arrived—the truth of that destroyed world.
"Hare Menjou, Ayase Shinomiya, Tsugumi, Arisa Kuhouin, and Haruka Ouma… you five, right?" she said quietly. Eve had told her that after the destruction of the Guilty Crown world, only those blessed with the protagonist's fate had survived.
To protect the remaining girls, Shu Ouma and Gai had sacrificed themselves, leaving behind only Inori Yuzuriha—who possessed three souls in one body—along with Hare Menjou, Ayase Shinomiya, Tsugumi, Arisa Kuhouin, and Haruka Ouma. These six were the ones who eventually reached Chu Lian's world.
That night, aside from Inori, Mana, and Eve, the souls of the remaining five girls were all entrusted to Chu Lian's spiritual domain by Eve herself.
Now, it seemed that some unknown force had drawn them together again—imprisoning their souls within these spherical vessels.
If not for the recent series of fierce battles during her journey through Japan, which had pushed her strength to new heights and awakened her ability to perceive spiritual entities, she likely wouldn't have been able to find this place for a long, long time.
Her eyes swept across the rows of containment spheres until she found the one holding Hare Menjou. With a light push from her toes, her body floated toward it. She stopped before the transparent shell, peering through the glass at the girl curled within.
"How can I help you?" Chu Lian asked softly. Though this was her own spiritual sea, she didn't understand the nature of these devices—how they had appeared or why these girls were trapped within. Confusion clouded her thoughts.
"Only I have awakened," Hare replied, her tone subdued. "The others are still asleep." Her words didn't fully align with what Eve had said—that they had lost all memory of the past. Perhaps Hare's ability to speak came from the very instrument confining her.
"In that case, I'll start by saving you. Tell me—how do I release you?" Chu Lian's brows knitted slightly. The situation was complex, but rescuing even one of them was a start.
"Lian, you possess the power of the Void Controller," Hare said softly. "You can form a contract with us. Once the contract is made, we'll be able to leave this place." Her voice carried a mix of shyness and hope.
"If that's the case, then that's exactly what I wanted," Chu Lian replied with a small smile. The thought of Hare's Void—the power of restoration—was a godsend for her current state. Nothing could be more valuable right now.
"Place your hands against the glass," Hare instructed gently. "These devices exist within your spiritual sea. Everything here is born from you. All locks here can only be opened by you."
Chu Lian did as she was told, pressing her delicate hands against the transparent surface. A soft blue light blossomed from her palms, and her body began to phase through the glass.
In the next instant, she found herself inside the sphere, embraced by Hare Menjou—who had opened her arms and floated gracefully in the air.
The Void reappeared. At the center of Chu Lian's chest, the faint outline of a white rose shimmered into view, glowing softly in the darkness…